Our bee hives

Why our hives are best for bees

The Scottish Bee Company utilises the best hives for the welfare of all our bees. Our hives are specially designed to nurture the bee population and specifically for keeping them safe during the cold Scottish winter months.

Instead of using the traditional wooden hives, we use polystyrene hives which have often been utilised in colder regions of Europe. The poly hives have significantly increased insulation, in comparison to the more traditional wooden beehives and are significantly better in keeping bee colonies healthy throughout the winter months.

These hives are particularly good at regulating the temperature within the hive for our little bee friends. The polystyrene keeps the internal temperature far more consistent throughout the seasons which allows our bees to spend less energy on this job themselves and more time collecting pollen and making their honey. Effectively, during the summer poly hives shield the bees from the heat and during the colder winter months, they provide much needed insulation and warmth.

Along with the above, poly hive bee colonies are thought to grow earlier in the season and due to the insulation of the hives the bees will generally start flying earlier in the day. All factors lead towards more time for pollen collection and thus increased honey crops.

These particular hives are suited to Scotland’s climate, with our long and often bitter winters. In such conditions, wooden hives can become damp or even rotten but with poly hives our bees are kept warm, dry, safe and healthy.

The Scottish Bee Company also favours poly hives for their environmental benefits. These hives require little to no preservation and can last for up to thirty years. They do not suffer from rot or woodworm, the treatments for which can have detrimental effects on the health of the bees. Our hives are fully recyclable and The Scottish Bee Company recycle all our old hives once they are out of commission.